At The Bridgestone Invitational, Tiger Woods is making it look easy

Tiger Woods has seemingly always dominated this Firestone Golf Course, in Akron, Ohio as he has won this tournament seven times, this year is no exception and win number eight is easily within reach as going into the final round with a seven stroke lead. On Friday, Woods matched a career best by shooting an amazing 61 that thrust him into this huge lead. It seems that this course was custom tailored for Woods and nobody else in recent years.

Golfers have been heard saying they are playing for second this week and Woods is looking like the Tiger of old. Playing for second here isn’t a bad thing, at least at this tournament anyway as they would get over eight hundred thousand dollars if they finish in second by themselves

If Woods keeps up this pace, this could bode well next week as it is the 95th PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. Woods and other big name professionals played a practice round on the course earlier the historic East Course this week before heading to Akron. If Woods keeps it up, his 15th major will be easily his. If/when Tiger Woods wins this tournament and if he wins the PGA Championship next week, it’ll be the fourth time in his career he has gone back to back in wining both of these prestigious tournaments where the best players in the world only play in.

Closest to Woods’ lead is Henrik Stenson and frankly, Stenson would need a round of a lifetime to win this tournament. Also Woods would have to majorly falter for anyone to get close to him. If Woods were to falter and lose this, it would be the the largest collapse in his career by a great deal.

Woods can afford to play ultra safe and using smart shots that shape up easy set up shots and also by two putting and paring every hole and it will make the field play catch up and have amazing rounds, and the way most people play this course, it seems extremely unlikely to happen.

All and all, can Tiger Woods becomes the supremely dominant player he was of the late 1990s and early 2000s? The way he has played all year it seems likely, despite not winning a major.

Photos by Jay Talbott